About the Assessment: Target Population and Sample Size

The schools and students participating in NAEP assessments are selected to be representative of all schools nationally. The results from the assessed students are combined to provide accurate estimates of the overall performance of students in both public and nonpublic (private and Bureau of Indian Education schools) schools in the nation.

Because each school that participated in the assessment,
and each student assessed, represents a portion of the
population of interest, the results are weighted to account
for the disproportionate representation of the selected
sample. This includes oversampling of schools with high
concentrations of students from certain racial/ethnic groups
and the lower sampling rates of students who attend very
small schools.

Student sample sizes and target populations in NAEP geography, by grade and type of school: 2010

Grade

Type of school

Sample size

Target population

4

Nation

7,200

3,934,000

Public

6,700

3,618,000

Private

500

316,000

8

Nation

9,700

3,662,000

Public

8,900

3,382,000

Private

800

276,000

12

Nation

10,200

3,164,000

Public

9,000

2,895,000

Private

1,200

268,000

NOTE: The sample size is rounded to the nearest hundred. The target population is rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2010 Geography Assessment.